Communication Break Dance
by hansuh
Summary: AU What kind of relationship will be evolved when Mihawk - a powerful businessman and owner of an art museum and Zoro - a student start to talk to each other by chance in an instant messaging program?
1. Connection

Communication Break Dance

Shanks enjoyed his job. No – rather than that he enjoyed having keys and access codes into to almost every room in the building. He was the head of security in the Mariejois Museum of Art – and currently the redhead was in the process of 'borrowing' his friend's computer in said friend's office. It was time for a lunch break and Shanks had stopped by to see his friend. It was strange to find the office empty. For a while he just circled around in the room which was filled with strange artefacts and paintings, poking and prodding things he any other time would be told not to touch in a stern voice. Then he had noticed the computer – the laptop, which had been left on and unlocked.

Could this be really happening? Shanks's immense curiosity soon placed him in the chair in front of the laptop. This was really too good to be true. The instant messenger was on. At first his intention was just to change the nickname and user picture into something more 'appropriate', but it had been such a dull morning and he really wanted to do something fun. A mischievous grin lit up his face and the cursor on the screen moved onto a button which would connect him with a random chat partner.

The beep from the instant messaging program startled the green-haired young man who had been reading a comic online. Zoro frowned at the user name visible in the chatbox.. It didn't look familiar. He must have forgotten to block the random chat after he had updated the program. He choked a bit when the first actual message from this stranger called 'Hawky-Chan' came.

'Hey baby! Wanna see my boobs? ;D'

Zoro rolled his eyes and snorted. Random chat alright. What the hell was up with this person? He typed an answer.

'Um... thanks but no thanks.'

'Me so horny me love you long time! 33'

For a long while Zoro saw that the little icon which told that other user was typing a message blinking. To his surprise the next message was anything but dirty when it finally appeared;

'Dear Sir/Madam, regretfully my moronic associate has taken over my computer in my absence and made his business to harass people. I apologize for any inconvenience.'

The user's status turned to idle. Zoro stared at the chat window quizzically before his cell phone started ringing, demanding him to answer the call.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Shanks found himself cornered when his friend Mihawk pointed an ancient sword at him, with a very severe look in his eyes. The man's dark suit and sleeked black hair didn't make his sharp features appear any brighter.

"Oh come on I was bored... it's not like I was pointing lethal weapons at anyone like some people!" he squeaked with a nervous smile. Mihawk was not amused. The taller dark-haired man in front of him forced the blade to his throat.

"I get it, I get it! I'm sorry I swear I won't do it again." The rusty sword was lowered but an angry flare remained in the taller man's eyes.

"I suppose this is what I get for forgetting my laptop like that..." he grumbled.

"Yeah, it is all your own fault really. Let's go eat I'm starving!"

"I already ate."

"Then you can buy me lunch." Mihawk sighed but still went along with the red-head. It wasn't until evening that he had time to sit before his desk again.

He directed his attention to some urgent paperwork demanding his immadiate attention. It was close to midnight when he had everything sorted out and checked. As usual he was by now the only person in the museum, not counting the guards. He owned the museum and funded a great deal of researchers and projects. The beautiful old building had once been built by his ancestors as their family home. Now Mihawk was the only one left of his family. He had no need for a home which only offered him large empty halls echoing with sad memories – so he decided to transform it. He had always loved art and history - why not create a museum?

Starting up the collection hadn't been easy, despite all the pieces of art he already had among his inheritance. He became to be known as a ruthless and cunning businessman when he was acquiring new pieces one after another to fill up the empty walls. There were even rumours of blackmail. Mihawk woke the laptop on from it's stand by mode and leaned back in his old wooden chair, thinking how far he had made it. The museum was blooming with magnificent pieces of art and objects of intrigue, he had filled the emptiness, but what would he do with the empty rooms inside himself? He sighed and rocked the chair back and forth.

He had always been too busy for relationships. His beloved, sometimes infuriating, best friend Shanks had been the only close friend he had for a long time. Shanks and his boyfriend Ben had tried to arrange dates for him but all the attempts had been failures. He had his own ways and he understood that most people wouldn't understand him. He was 41 now... and life was good, he had money, he was doing something he enjoyed, but yes – he was lonely. A sound from the laptop yanked his thoughts back from the depths of his ponderings. He viewed the screen curiously. The chat window from earlier had been left open and he grimaced at the the things Shanks had written before he had caught him. He read the newest received message. 

'Hey. Where'd you dump the body?' Wrote username 'Marimo'.

Mihawk wasn't sure why he didn't just close the window and be done with it. It felt somehow exciting to have a complete stranger talk to you.

'Body?' He inquired.

'Your friend. You must have been pretty pissed.'

'Actually I ended up buying him lunch.'

'Poisoned?'

'Sadly no.'

At this point Mihawk realized that he needed to change his nickname back from 'Hawky-chan'.

'Aww you changed your nickname.'

'No kidding. And Hawky-chan isn't making a comeback unless you pay me.'

'Student. No money.'

'I see. Shouldn't good little boys and girls be sleeping at this hour?'

'What makes you think I'm good?'

'Oh my, am I safe socializing with a bad boy like you?'

'You sure I'm a guy?'

'Of course not. You could be anyone. Your username and user picture merely give me a basis to form such hypothesis but there is no way for me to really know. I could also discuss the style of your writing to great lengths but that is also something a person can alter to hide their true identity.

'Heh. True. But suppose that I'm not pretending.'

'Then you would be a rarity. And an impossibility.'

'Eh? What do you mean?'

'Every person is unavoidably a 'pretender' to some extent. Most of us change our behaviour according to our surroundings. The manner of speech when you talk to different people, even clothing. It's all part of a big play.'

'So you're pretty philosophical. Or at least you pretend to be.'

'Exactly.'

Zoro quickly sneaked to get a can of soda out of the fridge. He had been thirsty for a while but he just couldn't tear himself away from the computer. He popped the can open and sat back down. Damn, this person was pretty interesting. 'Hawk-Eyes' didn't write like any of his friends. Obviously some care was put into it. It felt a bit weird but it wasn't too disturbing. He couldn't think of anyone else who would use such correct language while talking online – or maybe Robin would write in a similar way?

He knew from group conversations that Sanji would send all these ridiculous 'cute' emoticons to Nami who also used them, thankfully in a considerably smaller quantity. Luffy would rarely type a whole sentence without a typo. Zoro wanted to talk more with this person. There was mystery hanging in the air – naturally, after all he didn't have any idea who exactly he was talking with. He started to think about what he would say next. The green-haired young man grinned and sent a new message.

'You're safe.'

'Oh?'

'No offence, but I don't do 12-year-old girls. The Hello Kitty avatar is a bit of a give away.'

"Damn you, Shanks!" Mihawk groaned and quickly replaced the offensive pink picture with the familiar Egyptian god Horus. He was never letting the red-headed pest anywhere near his computer again.

'What do you reckon would be the best way to dispose of a roach?' he typed, desire to to strangle Shanks growing strong.

'Kill it with fire.'

'I like your style.'

They continued chatting. To Mihawk it felt liberating to talk to someone without having to keep up appearances or trying to analyse what the other was thinking and figure out their strategy. The mood was... relaxed and friendly. Talking to this person was easy, uncomplicated. Mihawk's eyes were suddenly fixed on the clock. It was already over 2 am.. How did it get so late? Thank god it was Saturday. There would be only one meeting at the evening. But he really needed to go to sleep. He'd stay the night at the office, he was well prepared for such occasions so it wouldn't be a problem.

'I really have to go, it's terribly late.'

'Shit, it is really late. Didn't even notice. Hey can we continue later?'

Mihawk didn't even realize what he was doing before his fingers had already sent his reply.

'Yes, of course.'


	2. Discovery

Mihawk woke up groggily from the sofa-bed in his office. He hadn't actually bothered to transform the furniture into it's bed form, instead he had just thrown the sheet over it and fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He made his way to the battered old coffeemaker and loaded it with coffee and water. When the coffee was done he settled back on the sofa with his computer on his lap. It was 10 am and he enjoyed the calm lazy morning, reading online papers. After some time he started itching for clicking the IM program open. He couldn't resist.

Not too many miles away Zoro had already been wide awake for a while. He had finished his morning exercise and slumped down on his bed fresh from the shower. He grimaced as he managed to knock his hand on his laptop which was partly buried under the covers. He rolled over and opened it. He wondered if anyone would be online at this hour. Actually one person in particular. He was in luck.

'Hey! You're on early.' he wrote to Hawk-Eyes. 'None of my friends are usually on before noon.'

'Neither am I. Actually I'm almost never logged in unless I have to talk to a certain idiot quickly.'

'Lol, boyfriend/girlfriend?'

'Good Lord no. Thank God no. Not that he didn't try in the beginning but let's not venture there.'

'Heh. Alright.'

' I have to confess that I only logged on to see if you're online. A bit foolish, I know.'

'Then I'm a bit of a fool too. Hoped you'd be on.'

'I didn't scare you off with all the philosophical rambling? I thought that I must have surely bored you to death.'

'No I thought it was really interesting. I don't get to talk about things like that often. Well there were like philosophy classes at school and all but like you could really discuss anything there and our teacher was this horrible old goat.'

'Goats can get degrees these days?'

'Haha! A real goat would have been better than him. How's your morning?'

'Just enjoying the peace and quiet with some coffee. I won't have anything to do until later this afternoon. The only downside is that I slept in a rather awkward position and my neck and shoulder hurt.'

'Ow that sucks. You should try to stretch a bit. I should probably do that too, just got back from a morning run.'

'So you exercise quite a bit? Can't imagine that someone who is not that dedicated would go running early in the morning.'

'Yep. Like that?'

'What ever do you mean?'

'You like athletic types?'

'Why, you are bold.'

'Aww, come on Hawky.'

'Certainly I would find a well-formed body attractive. I appreciate any man or a woman who takes care of their body. Of course the mind must not be neglected either.'

'Hmm, evasive. Alright then. What about you, do you keep yourself fit?'

'Oh I used to exercise all the time. It helped me to take my mind of certain matters. I could direct my frustration and other unwanted feelings into it.'

'You were feeling bad? Why did you stop?'

'Come now, you seriously want me to start droning on about my life?'

'I won't ask you to talk about it if you don't want to. Sorry I didn't mean to be rude or anything...'

'Don't be sorry. It's just that you are actually the first person to really have asked about that time in my life. I haven't really given any thought to it before but I haven't talked about it even with my best friend.'

'Sometimes it could be easier to talk to someone who has some distance to the matter...'

'You might be right.' Hawk-Eyes admitted.

'Are you still there? You've been quiet for a while.'

'I'm here. I'm trying to figure out how to express certain things.'

'Take your time.'

'I never lacked anything materially but the relationships in my family were distant.' Hawk-Eyes began. 'I was a lonely child. As a teenager I was anxious and began to feel anger towards my surroundings. I tried to go out to the world and I tried locking myself away from it. I took up fencing at school and I was able to release some of my feelings through it. It was a nice way of focusing oneself. The mind has to be clear of anything else to truly be able to perform expertly. Now I wish that I could have talked to my family instead of struggling with my problems in private. I keep wondering if things would have been any different that way. They're all gone now.'

'You've had though times for sure...'

'Don't worry about it. Of course I think about it sometimes but in general I've had a good life. It's a thing of the past now and there's no point in dwelling on it. My friend helped me see that. That is one of the reasons I haven't murdered him yet, even though the temptation has been great at times.'

'Friends can be a blessing.'

'This one is mostly a curse, but I suppose that you are right. I'm sorry you had to listen to all that. Not many students want to start their Saturdays by listening to someone talking about their 'childhood traumas'.'

'It's ok. I think you're interesting.'

'Am I good entertainment to you?'

'No! I mean yes, in a way. Argh. What I mean is I don't chat with you just to keep myself from getting bored. I genuinely think you're an interesting person.'

'I'm flattered.'

'And despite all the stuff about not really being able to know who you're talking to online, I feel that on some level we really connect, and I want to learn to know you. Maybe in real life too. I hope I'm not freaking you out or anything when I say that.'

'I could say that you're foolish to say that since you don't know anything about me. You don't even know my sex or age or where I live. (At this point I can reveal to you that I am not a 12-year-old girl as you had previously speculated.) However, I also believe that we do have a certain 'connection', so it would be extremely hypocritical of me to do so. But let me say that it will be a long time until I let you take me out on a date. That's a joke. Just so that you know.'

'Hey you never know'

'Well somebody is flirtatious.'

'Somebody is a tease. But hey, you mentioned fencing.'

'Yes.'

'…...and?'

'That is correct.'

' …'

'I did mention it.'

'Oh come on!'

'Sorry – couldn't resist. Yes, I used to put all of my energy to it. I still do it but I've lacked a sparring partner since my friend was in an accident.'

'Ah, I hope that he gets better. Are we talking about the fiend from Hell?'

'Yes we are. Well...er... Half of his face got scarred. And he kind of lost his arm.'

'Oh. OH. Ow.'

'Broke into a locked room, changed someone's IM nickname and user picture and typed pretty expertly for a one-armed guy, didn't he.'

'Yeah, he did.'

'He's an eternal optimist. If I 'accidentally' cut of his other arm it would just be an excuse for him to research more weird sex positions. I pity his boyfriend.'

'Wow... well he'll be just fine when the apocalypse comes. So you two used to spar together?'

'We did, we did. Our 'duels' were not in terms of the art of fencing, but rather actual practical sword fighting. It started partly because we were not friends in the beginning. He might have seen it as friendly rivalry but to me he used to be an enemy. Already then the style we fought with reflected how our relationship would be. It wasn't about points or correct moves. Every strike meant something.'

'I like the sound of that. It must be nice to have a relationship like that –– even if you're rivals there's a mutual respect and no bullshit. Seems that we have each other a mutual interest. I do sword fighting too. I'm in the school's kendo club. Currently the best of the lot. Were you any good?'

'Now this is interesting! Well, I do not want to brag – but I'm still the crème de la crème of the Mariejois Senior High's fencing club. I have an unbeaten record of winning every tournament I participated in. Think you have a chance?'

'Like I would lose! I'm going to be the best!'

'Oh, he has spirit! I'm sorry, I have to go so I can get from point A to point B on time. The time flies by so fast, thank you once again for the most refreshing conversation! Thanks to you I think I can put up with a group of vegetables.'

'Anytime! Hey, have a good day! I hope we can talk again soon.'

'You too, and next time I want to hear more about you!'

Zoro was a bit surprised to see that it was 1 pm. He would have to find some food and get himself ready to go. He groaned and rolled to his side on the bed. He had to go on a stupid excursion to the art museum with a class. It was something that he absolutely had to do, and with a decent grade too, to graduate. Why did the visit have to be on Saturday? There were so many things he had much rather done than this. While he was cursing the teacher, the school and the universe for putting him into this situation a paper pinned on the cork board on his wall.

Something at the back of his mind kept nagging that there was something that he should remember about it. But there wasn't anything special about it, it was just a schedule for the graduation ceremony which was only few weeks away. Only thing he really needed to remember was the time and place. Then he suddenly realized it. How come his brains hadn't processed this information when they were talking? 'The ceremony starts at 12 am at the hall of Mariejois Senior High'. Hawk-Eyes had gone to the same school as him!?


	3. Interesting Offers I

Zoro took the train to the art museum. He almost missed his stop and had to squeeze himself through the closing door because his mind wasn't in the reality. He still couldn't believe it. Hawk-Eyes – the online friend he had met completely by chance – had studied in Mariejois Senior High – the very same school he was soon going to be graduating from. Provided that he would pass the course which had brought him to the museum today. He joined the other students waiting on the building. Their teacher was already there too, explaining the classical architecture to the youths who couldn't care less – save for some overly eager point fishers. After waiting for some minutes for the late students the group moved inside.

At the lobby the teacher kept talking and proudly announced about that he had specifically organized this excursion to get them a very influential person to talk about the museum to them. Zoro tuned the man's annoying nasal voice out and let his mind drift back to Hawk-Eyes. At first it hadn't really mattered to him what the other person was like in person. But now that he knew that at least at some point they had lived in the same city his mind wouldn't let it go. It felt surreal to think that if the other still lived in Mariejois they could have passed each other by on the streets every day and not know anything about it.

Zoro walked with the group into a presentation room flooded with light. Seemed like their guide had joined them too. Zoro hurried into a secluded corner where he could doze off with his thoughts. Fencing club, huh? Then... his friend couldn't be that much older than him – that club was founded something like ten years ago, give or take. He felt somehow guilty for getting excited about the mystery – the more he thought about it the more he itched to dig deeper into it. But it wasn't as if he was doing it to entertain himself, he was just curious. He wondered if Hawk-Eyes had intentionally dropped the school's name...probably not.

"Roronoa! You should pay attention instead of slacking!" a hushed voice scolded him. Zoro looked at the disruption, annoyed. It was that girl who was always trying to make her opinions matter, but whose name he still couldn't remember. He was quite surprised himself, he'd known about this person's existence for years and he wasn't sure if he had even heard her name. She was one of those people who had straight sharp noses – perfect for sticking up while looking down at people – and who were always lecturing others about something.

"Just mind your own business." The girl's nose twitched angrily before she turned back. She was sitting in front of him... how come she had time to look around finding something to complain in other people if it was so important to focus now? He looked at the front of the room. The masses of orange light from the evening sun invading straight in prevented him from seeing clearly, but the voice flowed through the room well. The teacher had stopped talking and the voice filling the room was steady and rich. He could see the silhouette of the man in the front. He was talking about the museum's events and collections. Zoro yawned. Not particularly interesting. But he could get used to listening to this voice.

When the presentation was over their teacher started instructing them.

"As you all remember you must pick a piece of art from the museum's current exhibitions and write an essay on it. Now you may independently search for a subject. Don't run off – I will call your names at the end of our visit!" Zoro sent a glare in his direction for ruining his day and moved out with the rest of the students who started to scatter around the halls, most in small groups. Zoro banded together with a couple of guys he knew from the kendo club.

"Wasn't he just so eloquent!" the boys all looked at the giggling group of girls near them. Of course it was what's-her-name speaking, in a voice that made unnecessarily clear to other people what she were saying. "Oh why can't all men be like that? I hate the childish brain dead boys at our school." Zoro and the other two realized very well who exactly the last words were directed at.

"Hey are you trying to pick a fight?" asked the rougher one of his companions.

"Don't, she's just a girl." the other held him back.

"Doesn't matter if she's a girl or not I won't take bullshit from anyone..."

"You see what I mean girls?" she said and the group burst into giggles again.

"Everyone, there he is!" squeaked one of the girls and in a second all of them concentrated their energy on trying to hide their staring. The guys looked at them in confusion. Soon a man appeared in their view. He walked tall, smoothly like a panther. He had a presence that drew respect from people. Dressed in all black except for the wine-red tie – Zoro could see why the girls were infatuated. Oh, there was someone beside him, he had hardly noticed. In fact he only realized it when the all too familiar voice of their teacher grated his ears, making him break his stare. Had he been staring?

"Who is he, what's so great about him?" he asked. All the girls turned to glare at him with a disbelieving look. The guys laughed.

"Oh man, Roronoa were you sleeping again? That's the guy who talked to us earlier. He owns this place or something."

"His name is Dracule Mihawk." said one of the girls. "Elegant, cultured and rich... he's like an emperor. I want my husband to be like that." All the females nodded and sighed in chorus, completely in their own world. One of them continued absentmindedly "But wouldn't it be kinda nice to have a boyfriend with Roronoa's body and his grace?" the words evoked another set of sighs and nods in the girls, and made the boys almost choke while trying not to burst to laughter.

"Hear that, Roronoa?" one of his companions nudged him and snickered.

"I had hoped that you boys would be able to behave yourself, like the girls here. We came here to be inspired by the magnificent works of art here, not to fool around." Smug smiles appeared on the girls' faces when the teacher stopped and scolded them.

"Excuse me, Mr. Dracule," what's-her-name said with all her charm "could you say a few words about these lovely ancient cave paintings to us?" The teacher looked at her approvingly and smiled. Boy was she getting extra points. The black-haired man faked a pleasant smile, something strange shining through the polite surface, and briefly explained the themes of the pictures and some archaeological details of the photographs.

"I find it very touching that these pictures have lasted thousands of years. What is their meaning? What do our ancestors want to say to us through them, what were they thinking when they made these images?" the girl said dramatically.

"Noble ponderings indeed. " the man said with his dark voice. "Shall we take this painting as our example? It has been dated to 25,0000 years ago and has been one of the most researched cave paintings because of it's particularly interesting details. As you can see in this image the stick figure on the left has gained a stick. He now feels that he has the upper hand in comparison to this other stick figure. I apologise, but I really must go back to my duties now. I hope you all have an inspiring day here." The look on the teacher's face was worth seeing. The unaffected man smiled and left.

Zoro snorted. The group stood still in silent confusion. The teacher looked like something inside his head had exploded. Poor guy. Zoro laughed to himself and started to follow the other boys down the hall – until something more interesting caught his eyes in the opposite direction. The exhibition hall was almost completely void of people, despite the beautiful renaissance paintings. Zoro didn't pay attention to the pictures on the walls. He was looking at a sword in a glass cabinet with a keen eye. It was beautiful. He remembered seeing it somewhere before.

"It's the Sword of Thousand Truths." Zoro looked up and to his surprise saw Dracule Mihawk. "Doesn't it please your eye?"

"It's not that. It's beautiful...but..."

"But?"

"It doesn't feel right. Sorry, it must sound really stupid. This is a named blade, right? I would like to consider myself a swordsman... and there should be a certain aura in a sword like that. People tell me I'm weird when I say things like that but I feel the 'personalities' of the swords when I'm holding them and this sword should give off some sort of aura even without holding it, like Wadou Ichimonji – but there's just stillness." the green-haired man felt a little embarrassed when he watched the other man smirk. Why had he said something like that?

"You are a swordsman, Roronoa Zoro. What you just said confirms it. The named blades do have 'personalities', a man with the spirit of a swordsman can tell that."

"How do you know my name?"

"I go see some of the larger sword fighting events every now and then. You've been victorious quite a few times." Zoro grinned.

"Haven't been defeated once in a tournament. But what about the sword?"

"It's a replica. The original is also in my possession but I'm uneasy about displaying the swords. When I was told that there was to be an exhibition of art inspired by the sword and they wanted to include the sword itself I had to decline the request. There would normally be a mention of this being a replica but we agreed to leave it out as not to break the spell of seeing 'the real deal' but a person like you or a highly skilled sword smith can tell that it's a fake. You've held a named blade before?"

"I have the katana Wadou Ichimonji."

"Really? That's one of the rare swords which aren't owned by museums or collectors these days."

"You seem to know an awful lot about swords...?"

"Well, this exhibition piqued my interest in the named blades so I've done some research recently. There was no documentation about the Wadou Ichimonji, only the name of the sword, time of the commission and name of the client. Would you be willing to bring it to be photographed?"

"Um..." Zoro couldn't tell why but something smelled a bit fishy. "You'd have to wait for a while. I still have some final exams left and this stupid assignment too, and I'm trying to look for a job at the same time. Things are really busy for me right now."

"What kind of job are you looking for?"

"Anything where I get paid really." Zoro scratched his head and frowned. He had been worried about the situation for a while. Since he was living with Sanji and the blond had a job for the summer they weren't in too much trouble if he didn't find anything – but he'd still have to borrow money from Nami and the mere thought scared him.

"Talk to Benn Beckman at human resources before you leave. He's in charge of the maintenance staff and security."

"Is it OK? I mean, don't I have to have any experience or something?"

"I'll let him know about you. There shouldn't be any problems, unless you have a criminal record. You're in good shape and you know how to fight if necessary."

"Wow... Thanks, I'll go and see him. Thank you very much." Zoro said sincerely.

"You're quite welcome. It was a pleasure to meet you, Roronoa Zoro. Here's my card, let me know if you have time for the sword after all."

"I will." Zoro said. He watched the man walk away and frowned. There was something strange about the things the other man had said, he couldn't help the suspicious feeling.


	4. Interesting Offers II

Thinking about the conversation with Dracule, the strange feeling about it lingering, and the little revelation about his online acquaintance Hawk-Eyes kept Zoro busy until the students were dismissed. Should he ask Hawk-Eyes about the fencing club? He couldn't decide. But he hoped that they could talk again soon. Well, he could head home after talking to this Beckman guy, he thought as he knocked on the door of the room S101 where he had been told to go at the Info. Soon the door opened.

"Oh hey, Roronoa Zoro, right? Benn Beckman. Make yourself comfortable." Was someone in charge of guard personnel supposed to look like a thug? Beckman had a big scar on his temple and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. The space was a break room by the looks of it. Zoro sat down on a comfy chair and raised an eyebrow when the other man started to go through a huge box of keys. Seemed that he had been doing that for a while. 

"Oi Benn, are you still there?" a muffled voice came from the closet. 

"Yeah, yeah. It was just the new job candidate."

"Did he have a nice ass?" Zoro shot a stunned look at the closet.

"He can hear you, Shanks." 

"Oh, sorry. Do you have a nice ass?" the closet asked politely. 

"Ignore him." Benn said. "He got stuck in the closet, I'm trying to find a spare key." 

"Introduce us! And tell him that I'm good-looking." the closet said excitedly.

"That's Shanks. He's the Head of Security. And he is quite charming when he's not talking too much."

"Tell him that we're ok with threesomes." 

"Shanks..."

"What?"

"I'll bake you cookies wearing nothing but an apron if you'll count to hundred not making a sound. Time starts now."

Zoro just couldn't hold back his laughter. If he was really going to work with these people he'd come to work gladly every time.

"Do you need help with those keys?"

"That would be just grand. Could you go through this small box for me? Look for tags that say S101. Let's do this quickly now that he's quiet. Age, hobbies, previous work experience, any medical conditions?"

"19, sports, love good food and having a good time with my friends. Worked part-time as a shop assistant a couple of times, not much else worth mentioning, and I'm perfectly healthy. No keys in this box."

"You'll do just fine then. Welcome aboard. Sign these papers will ya."

When Zoro had left Shanks had still been stuck in the closet. He couldn't decide which one of the men he should feel sorry for. He was so happy that he would be working with people like them. He had a feeling that he wouldn't have to worry about being bored. The young man fished his keys from the bottom of his pocket as he strode up the stairway to his and Sanji's place. He entered and as soon as the door was open a delicious smell greeted him. Perfect! Sanji had cooked something before going to see Nami and Robin.

Sure enough he found some delicious chicken from the fridge. He wolfed his portion of the dinner down and and went to his room for a nap. As he lied on the bed the sight of Wadou Ichimonji on its stand reminded him of Dracule Mihawk's request and he couldn't sleep. What exactly was it that had been weird about the conversation? Then he realized what didn't match up. He had said that he didn't like displaying the swords.

Swords; plural. Meaning that there were more than one. And the man had said that he had been interested in the named blades only because of the new exhibition, still he knew so much about them. He also followed the sword fighting scene closely enough to know him by name – that wasn't so amazing, he had been featured in many news articles about the tournaments recently, but still. He rubbed his temple with his hand. Where was all this going?

Mihawk sat down on a plush sofa – in his apartment for once – with a cup of tea, and let out a relieved sigh. No more students to handle or security personnel stuck in closets today. Not that the day had been bad at all, actually quite rewarding – he hadn't expected to meet the rising star Roronoa Zoro. It was strange seeing the young champion out of the arena, but he would recognize the man anywhere. The patterns of his body were etched in his memory. This Roronoa was different from the tiger in full battle-mode that appeared in the arenas, but the beast was still present, ready to leap into action – contrary to what the occasionally slouched posture and hands stuffed in pockets indicated. Mihawk had seen with his own eyes how dangerous he was and was quite impressed with him.

Mihawk had been following his progress for a while now. He was somehow drawn to him. When he looked at the young man when he entered the battle field he could already tell whether he would win or lose. Roronoa was prominent because he had spirit, no matter who he would face he would not budge – he wouldn't run away from a fight even if he was the underdog. He commanded the field and his sword beautifully.

Would Roronoa contact him about his katana? Mihawk had wanted to make some opportunity to meet him again. He didn't fully understand what feelings drove him forward on this matter but he was going to take Shanks's advice for once and follow his intuition. His musings were interrupted by the ringtone of his phone. After a bit of searching for it he finally found the device and answered.

"Yo. It's Roronoa Zoro." Mihawk was surprised at first, but then smiled at the laid back attitude.

"Roronoa, What can I do for you?"

"Let's start by setting a couple of things straight." Mihawk frowned, confused by his hard tone. "I lied about not having time earlier. I'm not really all that busy. But you were lying too. I realized that just now."

"Was I now?"

"You talked about disliking putting swords on display, swords – not just one, even though you said that you weren't interested in them. That and the fact that you could recognize me and the way you talked about the swords pretty much speak for themselves." Mihawk was silent for a moment, then let out a laugh.

"Good lord – I'm out of touch! Very well, you have exposed me."

"Come on, what's the real deal here?"

"Would you dare to come to the museum tomorrow to find out? No dress code – but bring a sword." Why had he said that? Would the younger man agree?

"...When?"

"Nine o'clock?"

"Wow. Clearly I was wrong when I thought that this couldn't get any more suspicious. Shady meeting in a dark empty museum. At night."

"You'll love the cellar."

"...I'm sure I will."

"Was that everything?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"Well...yeah? Do you have anything on your mind?" Zoro stammered a bit awkwardly.

"Aside from the priceless image of my Head of Security stuck in a closet for hours, nothing much."

"Oh, Shanks, right? He got out? That's great. Talented Head of Security you have there."

"Quite. The museum has never been safer than during those three hours." Mihawk wondered why the conversation was so easy. There was also a familiar feel to it. Zoro laughed at the other end, thinking the same.

"Right. I'll see you tomorrow then." Having ended the call, the young man wandered into the small living room. He flopped onto the sofa and was about to start looking if there was anything interesting on the television, when he heard the door open.

"Did the girls throw you out already?" he raised his voice so his roommate would hear him.

"Huh? No, I went to stock up on some rarer ingredients for next weekend." Sanji said, walking into the kitchen and starting to go through cupboards to make notes on what to get from the shops.

"Oh, I thought you had gone to see Nami and Robin or something."

"Nah, I just thought it would be easier if I'd find the harder to get stuff in advance. It would be a mess if we left it till the last minute and they'd be out of stock."

"I guess you're right... Oh, shit! I totally forgot about the get-together! I'm not sure if I can make it now..." Sanji came out of the kitchen, with a frown on his face.

"Can't make it? What the hell, after stocking up all that booze?" he teased. "Are you sick or something?"

"No, nothing like that. I got a job."

"Really? That's awesome! We don't have to worry about the money at all for a while. What are you going to be doing?"

"I'll be working as a night guard in the Art Museum. They need young people who can stay awake through the night." Zoro grinned. "It's just Fridays and Saturdays for now because I still have school but night shift pays well. And it seems like I have a steady job there if I want it if I don't screw up."

"That's great! But are you saying that you can't be there with the rest of us on Saturday?"

"I could stay for about an hour or so before I'd have to go, and I can't drink anything either can I..." The green-haired man grimaced. He had really been looking forward to their get-together. It had been a while since he had seen the whole gang.

"Let's ask the others if we can meet up earlier, let's set up a group conversation online with whoever is signed in. It would be too lame if you'll miss it, and we have to celebrate your new job too!" Sanji said. They both fetched their laptops and settled down in the living room, Sanji on the sofa and Zoro beside him on the floor. Zoro put his computer on the coffee table and logged into the IM program. They set up a group conversation as they saw that everyone was online, except Usopp and Chopper who were with Luffy. Noone had any objections to starting earlier and everyone was excited about Zoro's news.

After a long set of congratulations he got up to get something to eat while watching TV and chatting. While Zoro was in the kitchen Sanji reached for the remote on the table, next to the other man's laptop. He couldn't help but notice that a new chat window popped up on the screen. He didn't know that username. Didn't Zoro always keep saying how much he hated chatting versus talking face to face, or over a phone. He did admit that it was handy for setting up meetings with his friends but he felt much more comfortable when he could see or hear the person he was talking to.

Zoro emerged from the kitchen with a sandwich. He raised an eyebrow seeing Sanji typing something on his computer in an uncomfortable looking position

"Your online girlfriend misses you." Sanji explained. Zoro kicked the younger man and snatched his laptop back.

"Don't mess with my computer dartboard-brow! And it's not an online girlfriend!."

"Oh, alright then." The blond said and types a message into the their group chat. 'Zoro has an online boyfriend!' Zoro almost choked on his sandwich when he read the message.

"No I don't!" he barked at the snickering blond and punched him in the ribs. He then hurriedly typed a message denying the existence of any online boyfriends or girlfriends and retreated back to his own room, away from Sanji's prying eyes.


	5. About hiatus (AN)

I am in the process of re-editing this story and gixing grammar errors and such. One I am finished I will update the chapters and upload the fic also to my AO3 account _**hiimdangreen**_and when I have updated the old chapters hopefully very soon I will update with a brand new chapter I have already written.

I'm very excited to finally continue this fic, stay tuned for new chapters, I hope you still find this silly story interesting and enjoy reading!

In the meanwhile please read and review! :)

-Hansu


	6. With friends like these

I am in the process of re-editing this story and fixing grammar errors and such. I have finished updating the existing chapters and will now start uploading new ones, starting from this one!

I'm very excited to finally continue this fic, stay tuned for new chapters, I hope you still find this silly story interesting and enjoy reading!

In the meanwhile please read and review! :) After each chapter I will wait for comments to see what people think and I won't update before that.

-Hansu

Zoro reached the safety and privacy of his own room and hurriedly nudged the door shut. Damn Sanji... who gave him permission to touch his computer, let alone stick his nose into his messages? He took a deep breath and focused on his laptop's screen.

'Sorry! Roommate-attack! It's over now.' he typed with haste.

'Hawk-Eyes', or Mihawk, chuckled in front of his own computer, and told his chat partner that it was alright. The roommate hadn't had time to type anything else besides 'This is Shitty Marimo's answering machine. He's getting something to eat. I'm sure he misses you too and he'll be back soon and you can be all lovey-dovey!' It was quite amusing, but it was understandable that the other one didn't feel the same way. As they chatted Mihawk found himself preparing for the night, in his office – for the fourth time that week.

'I think I need to go to sleep soon,' Mihawk typed 'I promised to meet up with my friend tomorrow morning. I'm not sure why, I know he's scheming something evil.'

That assumption came from the fact that Shanks had suddenly turned up in his office - very polite and unintrusive - and asked him with an innocent smile. It made a chill run through him.

'I hope you come out of it alive.' came the response 'I need to wake up pretty early too, promised to help my stupid roomie to shop food for the gang. We're having a get-together. He'll kick my ass if I don't wake up in time.'

'You don't fight at home I hope?'

'Well. Hmm. We critique each other constructively. Physically.'

'You have an all-out war going on in there, don't you?'

'Pretty much. But the other day we did the dishes together and he didn't kick me.'

'And that's an accomplishment of great measure?'

'Yeah.'

They soon bid each other good night, both feeling confused at how reluctantly they logged out. Mihawk laid awake thinking for a long time, stretched out on his office couch and staring at the ceiling and the changing shadows and reflections. This was becoming... dangerous. He couldn't just let a complete stranger from the internet close, could he?

People in flesh and blood were treacherous enough, and here he was, having opened his heart - even telling about his past! - to someone he had never met despite knowing better! He squirmed and threw his hand over his face in frustration. Talking to this person was so... so... easy. It felt right. He couldn't explain it more. But no matter how good he felt he knew that things were not always what they appeared to be. He... couldn't get dependent on a stranger, on someone else.

His conflicting thoughts and feelings made his night restless, and when he met up with Shanks the red-head found him groggy and cross.

"Man did you go to a party without me?"

"I'm not hungover."

"Suuuuure."

"I just couldn't sleep last night. I was thinking about things."

"What things? Something coming up in the museum?"

"Just...things." The older man sighed softly. "Remind me why I'm here again?"

Shanks gave him an odd look but then grinned. "To spend time with your bestest best friend!"

"Oh joy." Mihawk mumbled. Despite himself the corners of his mouth tugged upward when Shanks showed his intact arm into his side.

"Jerk. It's been ages since we did something, just the two of us. You're doing the thing again."

"What thing?"

"The thing when you pile up all sorts of work shit and ignore me – your charming, handsome and amazing friend. And everyone else too actually."

"Doesn't feel right imposing on you and Benn, you have a whole bunch of things going on..."

"Look we have friends coming and going in and out of the house all the time, that doesn't mean you're any less important. We're always gonna be mates, right? Or have you forgotten, even after all we went through, you asshole?"

How could he? It was years ago but the stump of Shanks's arm was an obvious reminder.

"Come on!" The grinning fiend tugged his sleeve. "Let's go have a blast!"

They passed by an ethnic food shop where another pair of friends were having an outing. Zoro grumbled and shifted, his hands already full of groceries when Sanji dumped one more bag into his arms.

"Stop whining I'm the one who'se gonna cook everything it's only fair that you carry it moss-head."

"Fine, fine...And I wasn't whining!"

"Good! I was worried that our brave strong swordsman might be out of shape or something!" Zoro glared at the smirking blond, but said nothing.

"Well that should be everything..." Sanji mused as they stepped outside, lazily making their way back. It was a bit chilly but the weather was nice enough, the air was fresh and pleasant to breathe.

"Who were you chatting with?" Sanji asked, out of the blue, almost making Zoro stumble. "Someone from school?"

"...Kinda." It wasn't exactly a lie. He assumed Hawk-Eyes was a former student, talking about the fencing club in past tense. It still astonished him – they had gone to the same school as him. The fencing club wasn't formed until recently so they might have passed by each other in the hallways in previous years. He might have seen his or her face. Every day he might have passed by this person who was so real, despite being just a phantom on a laptop screen. These thoughts had been making him restless since he learned about it. At first he had thought it wouldn't matter, it was just a nice little change of talking to someone new on the internet, they'd do it until they got bored of it and then they would move on. But now... when he thought about letting that person on the other end of the connection go... it felt so wrong.

"'Kinda'? What the hell does that mean?"

"He graduated already." Zoro didn't know why he chose the male pronoun. Maybe just to pre-emptively shut Sanji up about the online girlfriend thing...

"Ah, from your club or something?"

"Yeah..." Zoro nodded.

"Is there something going on? You seem kinda off somehow. Hey I'm sorry about yesterday did I mess something up?"

"Nah it's fine I just... there's this stupid essay I have to write..." Zoro said, trying to nudge the conversation to another direction.

"Ohoho, Marimo is scared of big words is he?" Sanji taunted playfully, earning a half-hearted glare.

"You wanna get punched?"

"What's it about? Don't worry man just scribble something down and be done with it."

"It's for the art course..." Zoro cringed. That damn teacher... he didn't seem to like Zoro much, or any of the 'athelete types' for that matter. "If I don't do at least moderately well I'm gonna fail and I can kiss goodbye any thoughts of graduating this year. Not that I have any idea what to do with my life after that..."

Sanji listened silently, while they walked towards their apartment, lighting a cigarette.

"Just take baby-steps, one task at a time. Focus on getting that essay shit done first. I'm sure Robin can help you out she's ace with that kind of stuff." he patted his green-haired friend on the back. "We'll take care of our shitty marimo!" he grinned and laughed when Zoro tried to kick his shin, wobbling slightly with the weight of the groceries.

How lucky he was, with friends like these. He wasn't even sure how their band of misfits had come together but it didn't matter, they stuck together and looked out for eachother. They laughed and cried together and shared hopes and dreams. It was the best thing he had in his life, besides the feeling he got when he was fired up and ready to go with a sword in his hands. The young man frowned. Why was he suddenly feeling so incomplete...

Dammit, Hawk-Eyes...

Back towards where they came from Mihawk and Shanks sat in a cozy old cafe. The dark haired man had to be in awe of Shanks for having a seemingly bottomless stomach.

"I don't understand how you can eat all that..." he nearly gagged at the amount of sweet things Shanks had already eaten in such a short time. He was perfectly happy with his dark chocolate muffin. "Where does all that go?" He wondered aloud. Shanks merely grinned and took another bite. "I need to eat a lot so I have the energy to be as awesome as I am!"

"Even half as 'awesome' as you are is more than enough. I don't understand how you stay fit."

"With Benn." Shanks finished and took a sip from his coffee. "Sex – great way to burn calories!" he beamed.

"I don't know why I was expecting something sensible." Mihawk replied with an unmoved expression while Shanks laughed. The red-head leaned on his good arm and sighed.

"Hey are we becoming old or something? Seriously, twenty years ago would you have ever thought we'd be sitting somewhere casually sipping coffee?" Mihawk's lips tugged upwards slightly, which Shanks recognized as his silent laugh from the look in his eyes. He prided himself in knowing Mihawk's language. "We used to just go out and wander through the night, running under bridges and in abandoned warehouses, picking fights. It was... it was life. It was all there was to life for us wasn't it? Friendship, rebelling and fighting."

"We weren't friends." Mihawk reminded.

"Yeah I guess not but eventually you saw the light." Shanks smirked at the dark-haired man.

Mihawk grinned despite his restless thoughts. His mind was only half-present in the conversation, and he felt a bit guilty about it. It really had been a long time since he and Shanks had just spent some time together. But he couldn't stop thinking about that chat partner of his... 'Marimo'... such a ridiculous alias... coming uninvited into his life and messing up his head. How did it happen... He admonished himself, letting himself get affected by such a thing.

"Hey, Hawky, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Shanks said suddenly, with that annoying innocent smile of his. Mihawk narrowed his eyes slightly at him. "I just want you to remember that I'm gonna be there for you if you need me." the red-head grinned. It was obvious to him something strange was going on with his friend, but he knew he wouldn't get anywhere by pushing. Mihawk would have to come to him on his own when he was ready to talk about whatever was bothering him.

Mihawk nodded curtly at Shanks's reminder. The red-head could be surprisingly perceptive and subtle when he really wanted to be, he admired. They quickly moved on to talk about other things, but nothing managed to make him entirely forget about his online acquintance. This...was not good at all, he thought grimly. It couldn't continue, he decided. He had to end it.


End file.
